Deutsche Bahn, the operator of trains in Germany, announced that an "act of sabotage" targeted the wireless infrastructure causing a major disruption to the railway network in the country.

In a statement to Agence France-Presse, a company spokesperson said that "sabotage in a cable" was the cause of the malfunction which led to the suspension of train services for three hours across northern Germany.

German Transport Minister Volker Wissing confirmed that the main cables were "cut deliberately" in two locations, adding: "It is clear that this was a targeted and deliberate act."

He explained that the motive behind this act "is not yet known."

Der Spiegel newspaper quoted security sources saying that the "GSM-R network was damaged," which is a wireless communication network on the railways.

Bild newspaper pointed out that any modification to the cable requires "a certain level of knowledge" of the railway system, noting that the federal police have started an investigation.

It is worth mentioning that train movement was completely suspended for three hours due to a "failure in the digital wireless train system" before it was resumed, according to Deutsche Bahn. Traffic was affected on lines connecting Berlin to areas in western and northern Germany including Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Berlin-Amsterdam line was also disrupted and thousands of passengers were stranded at various stations across the affected areas.